Clearing out the Goblins
From the Journal of Cyren Megilagor "-8th of the Time of Flowers,- "It has been over a month and a ride since I arrived in the Port of St Herve's. Two days ago, a notice from the city guard was posted to the Ivory Owl bulletin board calling for assistance in the removal of goblin pests who had been raiding the local livestock. After 'persuading' other tavern-goers to reconsider their interest in the bounty, I was approached by a dirty old man, who called himself Herm, asking to accompany me on this bounty. I doubted his usefulness, as well as his sanity, but decided to allow it. Then,a strange little orange man introduced himself, begged to come as well. He claimed he was 'broke A-F' (whatever that means), and believing him to be a mage, I agreed to bring him along. Finally, a half-dryad druidess snatched at the bounty and demanded she accompany us. Though I did not care for her tone, my people have always honored the dryads for their wisdom and guidance, and I chose to acquiesce her request. I wonder though, what brings a half-dryad to this part of the world? A strange omen, I know not if it portends ill or well. "Old Sorin Silverfist called us over, when he saw us taking the bounty note. He warned us of strange amphibian creatures called Grung that might hinder our path, and suggested we find one human Rodrigo to travel with us, a warrior who he deemed useful, if not competent. He furthermore recommended we find the local priest to offer a blessing on our trip. I've already heard of some adventurers who have ignored Sorin and never returned. And so we went to the temple and found Father Isaac, as well as a drunken fool who matched the description of the man we sought. After a brief demonstration of Rodrigo's lack of dexterity and class, we purchased some supplies from Father, and set off to end this goblin menace. "After exiting the city and heading east, we happened upon hoof prints near the edge of the forest, as well as smaller prints I believed to belong to our quarry. Shortly after entering the woods, I confirmed that these were goblin prints and we continued onward. traveling for an hour, we found three dead goblins, as well as a slaughter cow. At this moment, Elluvia whispered a word to a strange ring she was wearing, and then began to speak to nearby birds in the trees. After a few minutes of this, she turned to us and explained that these goblins had been slain by some frog-like humanoids, according to our feathered friends. Recalling old Sorin's warning, we proceeded with caution, keeping an eye out for whatever these strange Grung might be, as well as for traps. And well it was for us that we did, since the nasty creatures had indeed set tripwires along the path. After seeing their miserable attempt fail, the frog-ish idiots chose to rush us. It was a brief but fierce skirmish. The orange fellow, Trasinn, particularly surprised me, as he turned out to be no mage at all, but something of a warrior. Though, to be honest, I could barely take the lad seriously; his raging shrieks reminded of nothing so much as a steaming teakettle. After the last one was felled, we looted the corpses for valuables and pressed on. "Dusk swiftly approached, and we stopped to make camp. As we did Elluvia and Herm dashed off into the woods, no explanation given. Rodrigo and I followed, with Trasinn lagging behind. Stepping into a clearing, we discovered a companions already engaged in combat with several goblins. Standing with his back to a tree stood a half-elf, clearly in dire straights. We swiftly dispatched the goblins, though Elluvia and Rodrigo were briefly knocked out during the fight. Setting up camp and tending to our wounds, we learned that this contemptible flat-ear's name was Karandar, and he had sought to complete the bounty on his own. He had been making camp when he was attacked, which is my companions heard his cries for help, and we rescued him. Though I was inclined to dismiss the half-breed back to the town, his contribution in battle with fire and ice had been impressive, and in the course of our tracking it had become clear to me that we faced at least a few dozen goblins; and so we urged him to join us. Bedding down for the night, we set the watches. Aside from sighting some Grung carrying goblin prisoners north during my own watch, the night passed uneventfully, and the next morning, we continued east in search of the goblin camp. "Reaching the denser parts of the wood, I motioned for my companions to halt, as I heard goblin voices approaching. While my companions hid, I lowered my mask and took on the form of one of the goblins we had slain yestreday, as two goblin scouts stepped out in front of me. Pretending to have escaped with my life, I told the creatures that Grung forces were amassing to the north, and that we needed to mount a defense. Though I am no practiced liar, the dumb creatures fell for the ruse, and led me to their camp, where I noted a pen holding several still living cattle. Repeating my story for some of the other goblin leaders, I feared that I had given myself away when I tripped over my tongue a bit, but it was clear that their leaders were even more idiotic, and as the call went out through the goblin camp to march, I snuck back to my companions to inform them of what had transpired. "As most of the goblin forces went north, we prepared to attack the few remaining guards in an attempt to take back some of the cattle. Seperating into two groups, Karandar and Trasinn began lighting tents on fire, and we charged into battle. As we did so, I noticed out of the corner of my eye I noticed Elluvia once again whisper to her ring, and as she did, the cows began bucking their enclosure. Collapsing it, they charged the goblins from behind as we attacked from the front. Just as victory seemed assured, a huge half-ogre ran stumbled into the clearing, growling and frothing. However, as it screamed 'Trollgar want meat!', those ridiculous cows charged straight at the beast, something I could only presume to be Elluvia's doing. As the cows gored the creature, Rodrigo charged from behind and ventilated the half-ogres spleen in a most impressive manner, slaying the creature with a final smack to the skull with the butt of his glaive. "In the confusion of the beast's appearance, however, one of the goblins had slipped away and managed to bring back a few of his friends. Though we were unable to slay the creatures, we managed to drive them off. Rounding up the cows, we collected the goblins heads and made our way back to St Herve after a long but uneventful march. Receiving our pay from the city, and gratitude from the ranchers, we have gone our separate ways for now, though I suspect that I might seek assistance from some of them in the near future."